Escapement mechanism



Nov. 27 1923.

H. L. HAYNES ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Fil ed Dec. 19, 1919 Nqv. 27, 1923.1,475,629

H. L. HAYNES ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Filed Dec. 19, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2WTW/ Patented Nov. 27, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD L. HAYNES, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSTGNOR OF 0NE-HALF T0 HENRY J.

WALSEE, 0F CLEVELAND, -OI'IIO.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM.

' Application filed December 19, 19 1s.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hnnonn L. HArNns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Escapement Mechanism, ofwhich the following 'is a specification.

This invention relates to time pieces and particularly to escapementmechanism therefor. The invention has particular relation to clockmovements or time pieces designed for running over an extended period,such as eight days, a month or a year, such as clock movements used inconnection with time recording or signal. systems or for any otherpurpose.

Clock movements designed for long periods ofoperation require largepowerful springs, which necessitate the use of a pendulum or other heavyescapement mechanism. The present invention has for its object toprovide improved escapement mechanism for use with long period clockmovements, and the delicacy and accuracy of which may be the same as awatch escapement but which is not affected by the heavy clock spring. Afurther object of the invention is to provide improved escapementmechanism in which the escapement is directly affected by a secondaryrelatively light spring of lower power, to thereby protect the escapement but which secondary spring is rewound at relatively frequentintervals so as to maintain its power factor substan tially uniform.

A further object of the invention is to provide governing means forcontrolling the transfer of power from a primary spring havin arelatively large power factor to a seconc ary or intermediate spring ofsmall power factor by the use of braking mechanism effective upon arelatively stationary part of the casing or frame, to thereby avoidvariation in time effect and compensate for lost motion or any wear ofthe parts.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved escapementmechanism of the general character indicated which can be built orassembled in compact unit form so designed as to be capable of insertionin many forms of clock movements already assembled, thereby adapting itfor clock movements already in usefand which arrangement also enablesthe escapement mech Serial No. 345,989.

anism to be handled as a'unit for repair, inspection and other purposeswithout effect upon the main clock movement.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, which represent one suitable'embodiment of theinvention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2is a sectional elevationon substantially the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a detail sectionalelevation, on a larger scale, on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; and Fig. l is adetail sectional elevation on substantially the line 14t, Fig. 3,connection between the brake levers and scroll being shown out of trueposition for purposes of illustration. I

The invention isycapable of application to any suitable or desired formof clock movement. For purposes of illustration the drawings show asimple clock movement which consists of the frame plates 1 connected bythe usual pillars 2 and which plates'are provided with or form thenecessary hearings or supports for the rotating shafts or arbors. Inthev frame is mounted the main spring 3 provided with a winding shaft 4.and a gear 5 in driving relation with a pinion 6 on arbor 7. Said arboris provided with a gear 8 driving a pinion 9 on a shaft 10 which in turnis provided with a gear 11 meshing with a pinion 12 on shaft 13. Shaft13 carries a large gear 1 1. The train so far described is a usual clocktrain, with one of the arbors serving as the means for operating theclock hands. For example, arbor 10 may be the hand operating shaft whichconsequently turns in the clockwise direction Fig. 1. Gear 145 is theone usually connected to a pendulum or other corresponding esca-pementmechanism: and in the present instance is the gear which supplies thepower and which drives the escapement mechanism forming the subjectmatter of this invention.

In a suitable portion of the main frame 'islocated'a plate 15 which maybe secured to a main frame plate by the posts or pillars 16. This plateserves as the support for all of the members or elements of theescapement mechanism, so that by disconnecting the pillars 16 theescapement mechanism may be removed as a unit without disturbing theassembly of the parts carried by plate 15 tor the purpose of inspectionor repair or said escapement mechanism can be shipped or packed as aunit and by providing the necessary openings in the frame plates may bereadily attached to a clock movement already in use as the substitutefor the escapement mechanism therein contained.

Plate 15 is provided with short pillars 17 which serve to support twoes-capement frame plates l8, l9, o1 peculiar shape, as shown in dottedlines 1. Plate 15 also carries a cupped bearing member 20 whichco-operates with a portion of the plate 18 as the bearings for an arbor21. carrying a pinion 22 in driving relation with the gear i l. Securedto rotate with said arbor is a sleeve or enlargement carrying a disklying within a hollow shallow circular recess 25 of plate 15, theperiphery of said recess being provided with suitable braking material,such as a, steel ring which constitutes an internal brake drum. Upon thedisk 2% are pivoted at 27 two brake levers 28, the pivots for saidlevrrs lying near the periphery of the dish where said levers areprovided with braking portions 2?) oi curved form designed to properlyco-operate with the drum or braking portion 26 of the plate.

At its opposite end, adjacent the plate 18, arbor 2 is secured to theinner end of a coiled secondary or intermediate spring; 80, whose outerend is connected to pin 31 on a hollow casing attached to a gear Saidgear is rotatable loosely on the arbor 21 and carries a cam disk orscroll provided with two curved cam slots to receive pins 36 located onthe inner ends of the brake levers 28. Gear 38 is operatively connectedto a suitable ordinary watch escapement, such as what is known as an 18size watch escapement, including the escape wheel 37 operated by gear33, the escape lever 38 and the balance wheel 39. The parts of thisescapement are supported by the plate 19 before referred to.

The operation is as 's"ollows: l parts are so arranged that the tendencyoi? the main spring is to turn arbor 21. in the cloclo wise direction,Fig. In the normal position oi the parts, or in other words. when themovement is runninei, the pins 36 lie intermediate the ends oi the camslots in the scroll in which they are engaged. In this normal conditionalso. arbor 21 has been turned sutliciently to wind he secondary spring30, so that power is stored in said spring sutlioient to actuate theescapemen The unwinding movement oi main spring 3 continues until thelevers 28 have been bodily advanced by rotation of the disk 2% until.said levers have been turned sulliciently by the more slowly turningscroll to exert a rur' cr movement of disk The main clocl train, up toand including gear l lnd arbor 21 then held stationary. While aid trainis stationary (and in fact at all other times the secondary spring 30operates the watch escaoement and continues the regular advance orrotation oi the scroll 34;. Rotation of said scroll gradually turns thelevers 28 until finally they released from braking ei'l'ect upon thedrum and the disk is permitted to be again advanced by the main spring.

The effect is to transi e very small increients of power at relativelyfrequent int' tale, to wit, fractions of a second from c main spring tothe secondary spring 20. T he watch escapei'nent is always dri; solelyby the second y spring and is in I way subject to the direct pmver ofthe mai spring. Consequently the entire movement has the delicacy andaccuracy ()Iii watch but may be provided with a lone or rclatively largemain power spring smlicicnt to operate the movement over an extendedperiod. Furthermore, the sensitiveness and accuracy oi. the n'iovementare governed entirely by the watch escapement and variation in the powereffect of? the main spring); as it unwinds does not alilect the accuracyof the time effect. Again, the braking: effect which controls thetransfer oi power spring to spring is exerted upon relatively stationaryportion of the cane or support and the movement is not affected by lostmotion as is the case where the braking" effect between two parts bothof which have movement, and also wear of the bral:- in or other surfacesis automaticany taizcn up by automatic adjusts ent oi? the pins 36 theslots of the scroll.

ll hen the movement is r1 .ninp; there is no appreciable oscillation Oilthe lovers 28 on. their pivots but they float. as it were in a positionin which very slight lever movement produces braking effect or releasesthe leve The real opera from braking action. tion is quite analogous tothe governing; effect in steam engines where the governor arms float inthe governing; position.

Release of the braking levers to allow turther winding; of the secondarysprinsr is not an effect consequent upon the power of the scondaryspring, for the reason th t when said levers are stationary and in)18.;{- in o; relation with the drum the natural turnin omemcnt of thescroll is in the proper d c: on to allow the pins 36 to travel downhill,it ere, toward the axis of the arbor 21. The tendency of the dish 2 1 torotate clockwise, a result of the pressure of main spring 3, alwaysexerts an eil'ect upon levers 28 tending to move them to release, sothat essentially it is the power of the main spring which produces thereleasing action and the secondary spring merely controls said releasingby its effect upon the scroll.

The greater the power effect of the main spring the greater is thepressure of the pins 36 upon the sides of the cam slots, but at the sametime, the greater is the tendency of said pins to travel down hill, asbefore stated, so that the efiects are balanced at all tensions orpressures of the main spring. Therefore the swing of the balance andbeat effect are uniform at all times.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha support, said support carrying a secondary spring, an escapementoperated by one end thereof, an arbor adapted for driving connectionwith the time piece train for wind ing said spring, and means rotatablewith said arbor and movable relative thereto and operated by saidsecondary spring for controlling the winding effect thereon.

2. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha support, said support carrying a secondary spring, an escapementoperated by one end thereof, means adapted for driving connec tion withthe time piece train for winding said spring, and means operated by saidsecondary spring for controlling the winding effect thereon, said meansincluding braking levers effective upon astationary portion of saidsupport, and a rotatable actuating disk therefor.

3. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha sup port, said support carrying an arbor driven by the time piecetrain, a secondary spring operated thereby, an escapement actuated bysaid secondary spring, and braking mechanism controlled by saidsecondary spring and rotatable with said arbor and movable relativethereto to regulate the winding effect upon said secondary spring.

4. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha sup port, said support carrying an arbor driven by the time piecetrain, a secondary spring operated thereby, an escapement actuated bysaid secondary spring, a stationary brake drum, brake levers effectivethereon and rotating with said arbor, and means operated by saidsecondary spring for controlling the operation of said levers.

5. Escapementmechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with asupport, said support carrying an arbor driven by the clock train, asecondary spring optating with said arbor, and a cam scroll actuated bysaid secondar T spring and operatively connected to sai levers forcontrolling the winding effect upon said secondary spring.

6. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece trainand an annular braking surface surrounding said arbor, braking leverseffective upon said surface and r0 tatable with and movable relative tosaid arbor, an actuating disk concentric with said arbor and rotatablerelative thereto for actuating said levers, and a secondary springconnecting said arbor and disk.

7 Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided with asupport, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train, asecondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a diskconcentric with said arbor and actuated by said secondary spring, andmovable-braking levers actuated by said disk for controlling the windingeffect upon said secondary spring.

8.. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha support, said support carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train,a secondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a diskconcentric with said arbor and actuated by said secondary spring, andmovablebraking levers actuated by-said disk for controlling the windingeffect upon said secondary spring, said braking levers being carried bya part rotatable with said arbor.

9. Escapement mechanism, comprising a time piece movement provided witha support, said support'carrying an arbor driven by the timepiece train,a secondary spring secured to and coiled around said arbor, a diskconcentric with said arbor and actuated by .said secondary spring,movable braking levers actuated by said disk for controlling the windingeffect upon said secondary spring, said braking levers being carried bya part rotatable with said arbor, and a sta tionary annular brakingsurface concentric with said'arbor and cooperating with said brakinglevers.

, In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HAROLD L. HAYNES.

